I was proud of something they brought to France that France needed, and I have no doubt that many of them took back to America something from France that we need.
For pure mental quality and courage, no people on earth could match what the American girls took to France. It was the finest stuff in the world. They knew how to meet hardship without grumbling. They knew how to run a kitchen and see that hungry men were fed. They knew how to nurse, to run telephones, automobiles—anything that needed to be done. Some failed and fell by the wayside, but they were the smallest possible percentage.
Those American girls knew how to do everything—almost everything.
Two wonderful girls, one who ran a telephone for the army and another in the “Y,” both from the Middle West, were at headquarters the day the King and Queen of the Belgians arrived. With others they were sent to serve tea, and they served it. The “Y” girl, taking a young captain whose presence made her eyes glisten to her Majesty, said:
“Captain Blank, meet the queen.”
And the queen, holding out her hand, and never batting an eye to show that all the conventions had been thrown to the winds, said:
“Captain, I am very happy to meet you.”
They served tea—served it to the king, the queen, the general of the American army, and other important people. There was cake besides tea, and it was not easy to drink tea and eat cake standing. The telephone girl insisted that General Pershing must sit down. The king was standing, and of course, General Pershing continued to do the same.